At this point in the NFL season, players have either matched/exceeded their preseason predictions or have fallen short. If they’ve in fact fallen short, fantasy owners are probably holding onto to the last little bit of hope that they may bounce back. But by this point, they’re just a waste of a roster spot. Here are three players fantasy owners should drop.
3. Ben Roethlisberger (Pittsburgh Steelers)
Is it the end of the road for Big Ben. Big questions surrounded him when he threw for five interceptions against the Jaguars. He’s definitely picked up the pace in his last three games with a touchdown to interception ratio of 4:2. But is he even worthy of a fantasy start anymore?
In eight games of the 2017 NFL season, Big Ben hasn’t gained more than 17 fantasy points in one week. From weeks three through six, Roethlisberger got 11, 10, 2 and 12 fantasy points, not QB1 material. Especially when Ben Roethlisberger is stacked with arguably the best wide receiver corps in the league. Surprisingly those four weeks sum up Big Ben’s season quite nicely. He’s averaged a poor 12.3 fantasy points per game and has performed very poorly on the road, even against teams like Chicago and Cleveland. Two teams who haven’t performed well against the pass this year.
For the rest of the season, it isn’t looking too much better for Big Ben and fantasy owners. In four of the last eight games, Roethlisberger faces Baltimore, Houston, Cincinnati and Green Bay. Four teams that have performed well against the pass so far this season. Another one of his games comes against Cleveland, who held him to only 16 fantasy points in week one.
With the focus turned to the run game, Le’veon Bell is the man in Pittsburgh now, and Big Ben can officially be let go from fantasy rosters.
2. Lagarrette Blount (Philadelphia Eagles)
It sure didn’t take long for Jay Ajayi to get comfortable in Philadelphia. In his debut, he had eight rushes for 77 yards and a touchdown, including his longest run of the season on a 46 yard touchdown. While that was going on, Blount rushed nine times for 37 yards. With a surplus of running backs on the roster, and now Ajayi who adds to that and looks like the new workhorse, Blount’s playing time in Philly may be cut down.
Last season Blount had over 1,000 yards rushing and 18 touchdowns for the Patriots. This one has been much more inconsistent. In nine games in 2017, Blount has 504 rushing yards and two touchdowns. He’s actually rushing better than he did last season, with his yards per attempt up .7 yards. The key part that’s missing is the touchdowns. A drop off from 18 touchdowns to two touchdowns loses many fantasy points for owners all around the nation. With Carson Wentz playing at an elite level, and two huge red zone threats in Zach Ertz and Alshon Jefferey, those touchdown numbers aren’t too likely to increase by many more in the rest of the season.
Blount has a decently tough schedule ahead of him for the rest of the year. He faces defenses like the Rams, the Seahawks, the Raiders and the Cowboys. With the addition of Jay Ajayi, the use of Wendall Smallwood and Corey Clement and the elite passing attack in Philadelphia, Blount is droppable in all leagues.
1. Terrelle Pryor Sr. (Washington)
What happened to Terrelle Pryor? Last season with the Browns and their putrid quarterback play, he had 1,007 yards and four touchdowns. In the offseason, he signed a one year deal with Washington to play under Kirk Cousins. This had the entire football world excited to see what the two could do together.
Ultimately we saw that Cousins and Pryor couldn’t do anything together. In eight games in 2017, Pryor has 24 receptions and one touchdown. Pretty bad for someone with the talent of a number one receiver in this league. It’s been clear that Pryor and Cousins haven’t been on the same page in 2017. They haven’t connected when Pryor has been open and that’s led to a decrease in the number of snaps that Pryor has played. Not only is he being benched for Josh Doctson, but recently he’s been nursing a bone bruise.
Along with his chemistry, his schedule for the rest of the season is intense. Pryor goes up against defenses like Minnesota, New Orleans, New York Giants, Los Angeles Chargers and Denver. This doesn’t bode well for Terrelle Pryor, and he is ready to be on the waivers in fantasy leagues.
Feature Image courtesy of USA TODAY Sports
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